Exhibiting Artists

Biography :Lee Jaehyo is a Korean sculptor who has exhibited extensively in his homeland and in Europe. He has shown regularly at the Albemarle Gallery in London and now makes his debut at their new space, The Pontone Gallery.
He makes free-standing sculptures and reliefs from humble, almost mundane, materials, principally logs and steel nails. These are transformed with great skill and hours of industrious toil into lustrous and refined objects. Their highly polished and burnished surfaces express an attention to detail and a painstaking concern for disclosing the innate beauty of the material. These unique forms are derived from the interdependence of man-made and natural. Their structural integrity relies on the contrasting combination of steel and wood.
His sculptures are biomorphic in form. The shapes of egg, pod and amoeba, and the modular nature of their construction, speak to us of growth and reproduction. While we can see reference to the simple, cell-like, structures of nature, there are also allusions to the man-made in echoes of table, bench and seat. Some of these pieces are deliberately ambiguous; their function suddenly becomes contradictory: can you sit on a sculpture?
Can you eat off one? They are inviting us to do so. At the same time we are only too aware of their status as ‘Art’. He makes us reconsider our relationship with the ‘everyday’, the taken-for-granted, material world.
What is strongly expressed by Lee Jaehyo’s work is a concern for, and immersive appreciation of, the natural world. His winning from his environment of basic and almost unregarded material (logs, simple steel fixings and scrap nails) and their metamorphosis under his hands is compelling. This is the ordinary made luxurious by intervention, by a sculptor who can see the beauty in the commonplace, who exposes it with the craft skills of a master cabinet maker.

Detailed Description :Malcolm Liepke was born in 1953 and raised in Minneapolis.
Liepke’s masterful use and knowledge of his chosen medium, is the culmination of a long and ongoing apprenticeship, studying aspects of painters he holds in high esteem. Compositional and tonal nods to the likes of Singer Sargent, Whistler and Degas, the patterns and textures of Vuillard and an ever- evolving palette of vibrant colours, result in a combination, which defines Liepke’s unique identity as a contemporary painter.
The women depicted comprise of the innocent girl next door set aside glamorous fashionistas of a bygone era. These slender figures with elongated limbs and pouted lips are indicative of models more akin to the catwalks of the fashion world, yet through Liepke’s bravura brushwork he flips the proverbial finger to the Photoshopped, touched-up cover girl imagery of modern society.
The beauty of Liepke’s paintings is arrestingly self-evident. Through his subjects, he delves into various realms of human nature. Sensuality captured in an expression, a passionate embrace, the celebration of womanhood and feminine wiles are predominant themes he deftly conveys. Above all though, Leipke’s work is concerned with exploring the engagement between subject and viewer. An alluring look can turn into a piercingly lustful stare, trapping the onlooker. Such a direct connection with the subject verges on awkward and discomforting, if only momentarily, before being permitted to relax in the enjoyment of the reciprocated gaze. In contrast, our voyeuristic tendencies are provoked by seemingly catching a glimpse of an intimate moment in time, captured like a still from a film your mother would not approve of.
It is a formula that clearly works for Liepke, as he continues to enjoy phenomenal international success with sell-out exhibitions and numerous paintings in major collections worldwide.

Biography :Matteo Massagrande was born in Padua, Italy in 1959. Massagrande is an accomplished painter and a talented engraver. He has exhibited in over one hundred exhibitions internationally in the past 30 years.
Massagrande presents us with intimate interiors in varying states of deterioration. These derelict urban spaces, once so full of life, are hauntingly depicted through the use of light, subtlety of palette and cinematic use of perspective. They the viewer is at once drawn inside; through a sequence of rooms, partial views of corridors or terraces. We are invited to wonder what is beyond the open doors, through each window frame and around each corner.
Perspective and light, more than anything else, are the elements that define Massagrande’s work. He does not simply depict what he sees with a scientific eye. The use of a mathematical perspective is substituted for an empirical one, typical of the art of the XIV and XV centuries. Massagrande studied and absorbed the lessons of the Renaissance masters, reinterpreting them, to create his own unique style. Like the early masters, Massagrande uses several focal points in his compositions. It is as if each scene was viewed simultaneously from three or four different points of view, yet still each scene retains the illusion of a perfectly defined perspective.
This is also evident in his construction of the space. The artist draws inspiration from several sources, fusing elements of different spaces together through his masterful use of light to create a new reality. In this sense, any human presence would simply be superfluous. The interiors are portraits in themselves: they radiate the essence of life and not just the remnants of their former inhabitants. For the artist each scene is a vision, re-imagined with every new composition. The rooms and artefacts we see, saturated in light, instil a vivid sense of remembrance steeped in an atmosphere of harmony and tranquility.

Biography :Since graduating with Distinction from the Royal College of Art in 1992 with a Masters degree in Fine Art Holography, Robb has continually made art, ceaselessly experimenting with three-dimensional imaging. Shortly after graduating, he was invited to submit a landscape work in to the V&A museum’s permanent collection, the first ever hologram artwork to be accessioned by the museum. Robb’s work now features in museums and private collections around the world.
Robb is currently best known for his lenticular photographic work focusing on the female nude and abstract forms in space, which he makes in series. The artist has recently begun to produce bronze sculptures working with the female nude, a subject familiar to him, using cutting edge modelling technology combined with historic casting techniques. This radical development is typical of Robb’s open experimental approach in making art, using any combination of tools and technology available to him.
In parallel to developing lines of enquiry around the nude and abstraction in his lenticular work, Robb is beginning to work on projects which investigate how we experience sound, and large-scale kinetic installations for public spaces, museums and galleries. For many, these new directions will at first seem uncharacteristic. Those who are familiar with Robb’s approach and what drives him as an artist will understand the significance of each project for him in testing possibilities with the lenticular medium, and creating new immersive experiences using three-dimensional imaging and cutting edge technology. This kind of experimental lenticular installation work is completely unchartered territory for artists.
Jeff Robb works in a variety of media including lenticular photography, painting, bronze and silver cast sculpture, reflection and transmission holography, photography, film, laser light and sound installations. The galleries here are representations of lenticular photography that use a vertical lens

Biography :Born in 1969 in South Korea, Hong Sungchul completed an M.F.A and B.F.A in sculpture at Hongik University in Seoul before finishing another M.F.A in Integrated Media at California Institute of the Arts in the US. Since graduating he has exhibited many times in the Far East, the USA and Europe and his work features in several international collections. The Pontone Gallery presents his latest pieces in an exclusive show at their new space in Chelsea.
The work takes the form of sculptural constructions, mostly wall based reliefs, (although some pieces are free-standing). Sequences of elastic cords are printed with photographic images and stretched over canvasses or within steel frames. These images, from a distance, look entire. However, on closer inspection, they become increasingly fragmented and fugitive, as the viewer becomes more and more aware of their mode of fabrication. A tension arises out of this rupture of the perception of pictorial flatness.
The images are of arms and hands grasping, holding and intertwining, sometimes manipulating a string of beads or a wad of paper. There is an emphasis on intimacy in their depiction of mutual touch and interrelation. The nature of the construction disrupts this and makes reference to the artist’s wish to ‘reanimate communication’; the disruption makes us take notice.
In his latest ‘Perceptual Mirror’ piece, made from gridded arrangements of identical solar lcd units that produce patterns of random, flickering, pixellation, he asserts this sense of impermanence and constant flux. A potential feeling of anxiety and alienation is offset by the fascinating aesthetic qualities of its painterly form.
In Hong Sungchul’s subtle and artful constructions we are introduced to questions about how we live in the virtual, and sometimes disconnected, world. His pieces aim to reclaim a sense of intimacy, engagement and understanding. Fast moving and blurry perceptions are slowed down and examined; the rich quality

Detailed Description : Bae Joonsung was born in Gwangju, South Korea in 1967 and trained at the College of Fine Arts of Seoul National University in 2000. The work of Bae Joonsung artfully combines painting and photography, inviting the viewer to explore the relationship between the two art forms.
When one walks past Bae’s paintings, the female nude within each composition is unveiled behind an otherwise demure scene created with reference to old master paintings or museum settings. For Bae, the attraction of a still life lies not in its quiet, placid nature, but in the dynamic energy contained therein. He has said that he has always believed that when an artist paints, with his or her eyes caressing over the model, the final painting brings birth to ‘another’ model entirely. As such, his lenticular technique – which gives rise to the dynamic, changing nature of his work – blurs the line between the animate nature of his subject and the inanimate nature of the paintings that result, encouraging the viewer to rethink these distinctions. His work is an acknowledgement of what is happening when the artist views his subject; it speaks of the entire process of painting rather than just one singular moment. Each beginning with the title "The Costume of the Painter", Bae plays with a literal understanding of this heightened period mood, wonderfully depicted, and at the same time signifies this additional cloak of meaning and artifice added through the creative invention of the artist.
Bae Joonsung has had three solo exhibitions is Seoul and participated in a number of group exhibitions in Korea, France and Germany. In 2000, Bae Joon Sung was honoured with the Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism Award for ‘Young Artist of Today’.

Biography : Hwang Seontae was born in South Korea in 1972. He studied at Kyunghee University (B.F.A) and trained in Glass Art And Sculpture at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle in Germany. He later completed his postgraduate studies in Glass Art, at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle in 2006.
The deracinated interiors of Hwang Seontae bring to mind Edward Hopper’s moments of suspended time. The Korean conceptualist, Suh Doho, once precisely recreated his apartment in New York and his flat in Seoul in nylon and silk drapes respectively, and left a similar sense of longing to that left by Hwang’s still impressions. Longing rather than loss; for these interiors are quiet contemplative spaces.
These minimalist interiors offer a rare moment of solace. As the light emanates through the windows Hwang instills an instant feeling of calm and clarity of thought in the viewer. A place that offers the opportunity to breath freely and face life on one’s own terms. In an age where we are becoming increasingly more reliant on new media and material culture, we live in a generation obsessed with ourselves and each other. The boundaries between public and private life are increasingly becoming less distinguished that there is little left to be deciphered or discovered. It seems there is no longer place for privacy, even within the confines of our own homes, Hwang’s spaces provide a refreshing release from societal pressures and show us that we do not need to let consumerism invade every aspect of our life. Hwang Seontae has exhibited extensively across South Korea, New York, Germany and Austria. In 2005, he won the Grand Prize for both the ‘Merseburger Kunstpreis’ and the ‘Leowenhof-Foerderpreis’.

Biography : Mari Kim was born in South Korea. She studied a Master’s Degree in Creative media, at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, where she lived for ten years. Now based in her hometown of Seoul, Mari Kim works as Professor of BA Digital Media at the Catholic University, South Korea, alongside her art practice.

Exhibition : Mari-Kim has enjoyed numerous solo shows throughout Korea and continues to enjoy phenomenal international success. Her work is included in the Seoul Museum of Art Collection and the Gyeongnam Art Museum.

Detailed Description : Mari Kim’s wide-eyed, pretty porcelaneous, characters, also known as ‘Eyedolls’, pay service to Japanese manga and anime culture. Often direct representations of well known political and historical figures, super heroes, or fairy tale characters they are instantly recognisable icons, popularised by western media. Mari Kim’s training in animation is understood through her use of bright, bold colours, simplified form and idealised features. With petite mouths and small noses her portraits confront fixed ideas and misogynist expectations of beauty and femininity projected by mainstream media and contemporary culture. The inhumanly large eyes are an obvious focal point in all her portraits. Decorated with Kaleidoscopic patterns, they have an almost hypnotic quality, that offer the viewer an alternative view of the world. They become windows into Mari-Kim’s all-seeing eye where reality and the virtual world are divided. The dolls do not engage with their audience, instead they look through us, distracted by a material culture that afflicts the young and impressionable of East Asia, perhaps more than any other group on the continent. Some clutch onto prized objects or wear cute feminine dress with child-like innocence, soft pinks and hazy yellows in “Marie” or “Kitty1” reinforce this sense of vulnerability. In other works, the ‘Eyedolls’ take on more assertive roles. Masquerading as Margaret Thatcher, “Iron Lady” demonstrates female strength and power, challenging ideological notions of female identity and gender inequality.

Detailed Description : Christopher Thompson was born in Grimsby in 1969 and trained at The Royal Academy Schools.
Thompson’s paintings originate as much from the artists own ideas and thoughts as they are drawn from glimpses of his own life and the world around him. Working from finely observed portrait studies, Thompson manipulates these ‘truths’ with imagined memories appropriated from elsewhere, weaving an enigmatic fiction that takes on a new reality on canvas.
Captured in his delicate painterly technique and an often subdued palette, Thompson’s compositions portray the human drama inherent in gestures, glances and emotions. In combining his imagined sources with observational accuracy, his work traverses the divide between the real and the fictitious – one step removed from reality, yet entirely authentic. His work expresses a fascination with togetherness and individuality, with what is spoken and unspoken.
Sometimes his individuals appear lonely and detached - lost in their own solipsistic thoughts - in others his figures are relational and interacting, expressive and aware of one another. In each composition, Thompson draws the viewer into the world he has created; our dialogue with his characters is as much a part of the unfolding story as the canvas itself.

About

Shine Artists brings together new and inspiring voices from the contemporary art scene, presenting work that is distinguished by its quality, originality and creativity. Always available at our London flagship, Pontone Gallery, and our new gallery in Taipei, Shine shares an array of emerging and recognised talent.

Presenting work in diverse and uninhibited ways Shine and Pontone focus on both homegrown and international talent, and continue to exhibit in new spaces and art fairs worldwide.